Wizard Erik Ashendale solves all kinds of magical and freaky problems – especially if it involves hunting down the supernatural. When he and his talking cat are approached about protecting a girl who is being chased by a demon, how could they refuse? Especially when they need the money. Soon enough, Erik finds himself caught up in a mix of angels, demons, talking pets, a Japanese monster, 1 out of 7 Deadly Sins and an untrustworthy twin sister. Erik has to learn to deal with his past, accept who he is and stay alive.

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When I started reading this book I had no idea what to expect but I was really pleasantly surprised. The first thing I noticed was it is in first person! I love novels that are written in first person but I find that normally they’re all about normal people, high school, love and friendship. I was really surprised to be reading a fantasy novel written in the same way. I have read my fair share of fantasy so for me, the fact that Firstborn is in first person made it really stand out for me! It’s also not very long compared to lots of books – at 272 pages in paperback, it’s shorter than books like The Spectacular Now and Paper Towns so you can definitely read it in a day or two if you have the time so it’s definitely a good book to read during a busy week.

Reading this book is a little bit like reading Skulduggery Pleasant. There’s the whole magic side of things and the fact that the main character Erik solves problems involving the supernatural. This isn’t a bad thing though; the author has managed to make it unique by throwing in a talking cat, a morally ambiguous twin sister and my favourite factor: the personification of the 7 Deadly Sins. Personality wise, Erik is a very smug, confident character who is often not quite as great as he thinks he is. This creates a lot of laugh out loud moments. The fact that Erik is not always as awesome as he thinks he is also makes him seem a lot more human so you can relate to him a bit more and understand that he isn’t just a wizard, he is also a guy who is sometimes in way over his head. He wants to help out people who are unable to help themselves so he is a really admirable character to read about.

Overall, I found this book a really interesting read. Although it is quite similar to some of the other books I have read, Erik and his familiar are really loveable characters and their wit and sarcasm made me laugh the whole way through. I am sure there’ll be quite a few more books in the series so I am sure that over time, the characters and the plot will progress smoothly and find their own niche.